我们与动物的相似之处超乎想象

In recent decades， experiments have begun to catch up with what people who work closely with animals have always known – that animals have an inner life， and consciousness isn’t uniquely human.

Consciousness is a concept that is fiendishly（非常地）difficult to define. There have been many attempts： is it awareness， or awareness of that awareness， or self-awareness instead？ But a useful working definition might be that it is any kind of subjective experience， ranging from how we perceive the external world to our inner thoughts and emotions.

Animals differ in their scores for each of these facets of consciousness. Members of the crow family， for example， can be skilled at learning from past experiences. Both octopuses and bees appear to enjoy playing， suggesting they can experience pleasure， linked to the ability to feel the difference between good and bad. The number of animals that pass the famous mirror test – showing that they understand that the animal in the mirror is them， and thus they have a sense of selfhood（自我意识） – is ever-growing and includes some fish but not dogs.

Findings like this prompted a group of scientists in April to write The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness， which now has over 300 signatories.

As recently as 2012， scientists felt it was necessary to issue a Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness， which stated that “the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness”.

That animals have some form of inner life must surely be self-evident to many people who live or work with them， But， as the biologist Marc Bekoff wrote in New Scientist that he personally feel that attempts to divorce emotion， feeling and experience from how we see animals can be just as unscientific. For too long， we assumed that humans are unique and animals don’t feel pain or emotions the way that we do， a convenient but cruel null hypothesis， when we could have started from the position that perhaps they do instead.

（材料选自New Scientist，有删改）

1. How does the writer define consciousness？

A. It is awareness， or awareness of that awareness， or self-awareness instead.

B. Consciousness cannot be described in words.

C. It is any kind of subjective experience， ranging from how we perceive the external world to our inner thoughts and emotions.

D. Consciousness is something that all living organisms in the world possess it， including plants.

2. What does the famous mirror test demonstrate？

A. Animals score equally in their scores for each of these facets of consciousness.

B. All animals have self-awareness.

C. Cows can be skilled at learning from past experiences.

D. The animals understand that the animal in the mirror is them， and thus they have a sense of selfhood– is ever-growing and includes some fish but not dogs.

3. What can we learn from the passage？

A. We can view animals from the perspectives of emotions， feelings， and experiences.

B. All animals are unconscious.

C. All animals， like humans， have consciousness.

D. We learn that all mammals and birds， and some other animals like octopuses，do not have the neural machinery needed to generate conscious states and intentional behaviours.

4. What type of article does this article belong to？

A. News and Communication.

B. Science and Culture.

C. Physical health.

D. Literature and Art.

1.C。解析：细节理解题。材料第二段提到“意识是一个极其难定义的概念。人们尝试过多种定义：是觉知，还是对觉知的觉知，又或者是自我觉知？但实用的操作性定义可能是：意识是任何形式的主观体验，从感知外部世界到内心的思想和情感”。C选项与材料内容相符，故选C。

2.D。解析：细节理解题。材料第三段的最后一句提到“通过著名的镜子测试的动物数量不断增加，包括一些鱼，但不包括狗。这表明它们明白镜子里的动物就是自己，因此它们有一种自我意识”，D选项与材料内容相符，故选D。

3.A。解析：推理判断题。材料最后一段提到“生物学家Marc Bekoff在《新科学家》杂志上提出，试图将情感、感觉和体验从我们对动物的认知中剥离开来，可能同样是不科学的”，A选项与材料内容相符，故选A。

4.B。解析：主旨大意题。材料的主要内容为“动物可能和人类一样，都具有意识”，由此可知材料属于科学文化类的文章，故选B。